Did Oraby transfer due to discrimination?

Basketball center Omar Oraby received an NCAA hardship waiver and transferred from Rice to USC last November, but Oraby has declined to comment on the reason for his transfer. There have been several reports that Oraby, a native of Egypt, believed he faced some type of racial discrimination while at Rice.

A report today from SI.com might shed further light on the situation. The report doesn't focus on Oraby but on his former Rice teammate, Arsalan Kazemi, who also transferred last year (to Oregon). In the report, Kazemi, a native of Iran, alleged that Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan ''made derogatory comments referencing Al-Qaeda and the Axis of Evil'' when talking about Kazemi, Oraby and another teammate.

Oraby declined to comment for the story. Oraby, a junior, was a part-time starter for USC this season who averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.

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